You don’t have to live long to learn that relationships are dependent on communication. My best friend growing up was Sam; we use to play together, call each other, join the same sports teams, and just hang out. But as time went on, he went his direction and I went mine. We quit communicating and our relationship has essentially ended. This same thing can happen with God if we are not communicating through prayer.
Prayer is real communication with God and is vital to our on-going personal relationship with Him. I must talk and listen to God regularly or, just like friendship with Sam, my companionship with God will crumble.
Isn’t it funny that when we come to know Christ it is just assumed that we will know how to pray? It was actually late in Jesus ministry that His disciples finally begged: “Lord, teach us to pray.” Our youth group has been studying the answer to this plea together to increase their prayer lives, and I wanted to share with you the framework of what they’ve been learning.
The best model for prayer is found in the lesson Jesus taught His disciples in Matthew 6:9-13. Simply put, it could be boiled down to the memorable acronym P-R-A-Y:
It starts with P- for Praise. When we start our prayers with worship to God, it makes clear that our relationship with Him is one of dependence upon His providence.
R- for Repent. After we praise Him, we must spend time acknowledging our need for Him. We have all fallen short in our thoughts, words, and deeds. We cannot enter into His Holy presence with un-confessed sin in our hearts (Matthew 5:23-24).
Next is A- for Ask. God promises to listen and answer our prayers – little and large.
Finally, Y – for Yield. Be confident that God knows what is best for us in any situation. I have heard it said that God has only one answer to prayer – Trust Me. True, God knows what is best, so we must yield to His will.
Prayer requires a lot of faith and trust. But God promises the strength and help of the Holy Spirit when we pray. So spend time and really P-R-A-Y. Your relationship with God will grow through answered prayer.
